I think we will ultimately win the value evaluation, but not this season. But since this season is the cap for Tucker's contribution, the contributions of the players after this season will bring us from behind.
I was a big fan of Tucker and wanted him to stay, but we all know he's a mercenary and will go to the highest bidder; rarely will that be the Astros. Cubs might not be able to keep him. So far, it has turned out to be a great trade for the Astros, and we have a young potential stud to man RF for the next 5 or 6 years. I can't complain about it. Wish we could've extended Paredes though...I guess Cam can take over 3B if Paredes leave and one of our many other OF prospects takes over RF.
I absolutely think it was a good trade based on players, risk and future anticipated contributions. But I do limit it to time remaining under club control as all future extensions should be at market and thus a neutral value which is not a part of THIS TRADE. You can make a good argument that CC before FA is a significant part of the value, even with the arbitration awards trending higher as a percentage of FA value.
Seth and Sean do a fun 'bad take of the week' context on their show on 610. Can we submit this? It is so bad on many dimensions - ignoring Parades and Wisneski, ignoring total time of control, ignoring signability and cost of Tucker by himself, ignoring that Cam absolutely shows more than a glimmer of being a perennial All Star. Then not even doing it in a humble, balanced way but to say that every other person is delusional. It's a work of art.
I listen to them every weekday morning while I read other things including this site, I think Seth is my favorite because he's humble and relatable, especially when he's on a rant.
Agreed. He is great, and a hell of a lot smarter than he seems at first. It is fun when occasionally Sean tries to correct him and Seth was right all along but is too humble to make it a big issue. It happens a lot. I like them both, but Seth is a jewel.
We had one year of Tucker left. One. Who the hell cares if he ends up in the hall of fame? you are right it’s not a win/win trade. We fleeced the cubs.
How is this not a win-win trade? Both teams are in first place, handily right now no less. The Cubs get to be relevant this year and the Astros get to not drop off much while being on much stronger footing in the coming years. Trading 1 season of an all-star (/possible HOFer) when there's a good possibility we got an all-star season back THIS YEAR.... i don't know how you can call that anything but a win-win.
Exactly, and if by some miracle we paid him his $400+ million, we'd be in a worse situation long term or in win now mode for a few years window only before a sell off.
The only way the Cubs don't regret this trade is if they win the World Series this yr. If by chance they resign Tucker they might not regret it but more then likely he's signing with another team.
Agree to disagree. Just the years of control for Cam is a win for this team. Not even considering Peredes and we got a MOR pitcher. tucker will not be a Cub next year while we will be talking about Cam for what 5 more years? and he WILL be an All Star in the not-so-distant future.
The Astros traded one season of Tucker, a star right fielder for a full career of Smith, a full career of a starting pitcher (since injured but the facts are unchanged), and a quality replacement for Bregman til 2028 who comes at a much reduced price in the person of extension candidate Paredes. The Astros not only won this trade in 2025 but will continue to benefit for years to come while the Cubs will face a huge expenditure at the end of this season or lose Tucker to a big spending club.
If the Scrubs don't win the WS this year and Tuck doesn't resign with them...this trade has the potential to be another Jeff Bagwell for Larry Anderson type trade.
Guys, I don’t think PhiSlamma is coming back to this convo. I don’t blame him. (and he spelled Phi Slama Jama wrong)
The Cubs didn't trade for time after this year. If Tucker re-signs or doesn't, the Cubs got this year and this year only out of Tucker from the trade. Teams won't re-sign players that suck or even get hurt in their last season of a contract. Players are under no loyalty obligations to favor current team.
Sure. And that’s true. But, there is an element of it giving the team a chance to audition for the guy as a place he wants to be. That’s not worth nothing (but not a lot). Could be a tie breaker if the money is right.
I know we haven't seem him play in the postseason yet but so far Parades seems way more reliable in big/clutch situations than Tuck. Tuck was too laid back and nonchalant. That '23 playoff run was all-time bad, on offense and defense for him. Body language was horrid. We easily beat the Rangers and probably beat the D-Backs in the World Series if he contributes anything.
